for EDUCATORS

Dream Big is accompanied by an unparalleled array of exhibits, events and educational programs to take the film from visceral viewing experience to fully interactive educational movement. We hope you will use Dream Big’s suite of educational tools to share the world of engineering with students and learners across the globe.

Educator Guide & Lesson Plans

The Dream Big Educator Guide is a companion resource to the film. It includes multidisciplinary activities for students in grades K–12 and has been written to meet Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), as well as common state science objectives. Each lesson presents students with an engineering challenge inspired by the work of real engineers and can be used to help introduce the engineering mindset to the classroom or your home. Download the complete guide or one of the lessons below.

Educator Guide (includes all lessons)

Lesson Plan

Grade K: Reach for the Skies

Lesson Plan

Grade 1: Daylight in a Bottle

Lesson Plan

Grade 2: Surviving Storm Surge

Lesson Plan

Grade 3: Maglev Train

Lesson Plan

Grade 4: Wind-powered LED

Lesson Plan

Grade 5: Take Out the Trash: Cleaning Our Rivers

Lesson Plan

Grade 6: Desert Island Desalination

Lesson Plan

Grade 7: Building Pyramids

Lesson Plan

Grade 8: Water Purification Device

Lesson Plan

HS Chemistry: Making an Impact on Habitat

Lesson Plan

HS Life Science: Endangered Species

Lesson Plan

HS Physics: LED Holiday Card

Lesson Plan

hands on ACTIVITIES

These ten Hands-On Engineering Activities were developed specially for Dream Big and all have a connection to a story or theme in the film. Two of the activities—Windy City Tower and Build an Earthquake-Resistant Structure—are actually seen being performed by kids in the film. To access more than 30 additional engineering activities, please visit film partner DiscoverE’s website: http://www.discovere.org/dreambig/activities

“If there’s a 10 year-old girl in the audience thinking ‘I have ideas, too’ we want to not only inspire her but give her a chance to learn more and keep going.”

museum PROGRAMS

Among the educational resources designed for Dream Big are museum programs that will be implemented across the country. Check with your local science center or museum to find out what they’re doing for Dream Big.

Opening Festival

Opening Festival

When the Dream Big film premieres on giant screens, be ready with an event that enlightens and entertains.

educational VIDEOS

Take a deeper dive into the engineering stories featured in the film with this series of five-minute educational videos. Each of the educational videos below matches up to a lesson plan included in our comprehensive Educator Guide. Download the Educator Guide.

more IDEAS

We hope that Dream Big will be an experience that audiences will take with them long after the projector stops—an experience that continues to spark curiosity, questions, awe and maybe even aspiration. Here are some ideas to help to spur even more learning in your classroom or at home.

Maker Faire is the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth—a family-friendly festival of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker movement. Part science fair, part county fair, and part something entirely new, Maker Faire is an all-ages gathering of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, students, and commercial exhibitors.

Join the grass-roots movement of families to use your creativity and your own two hands to build your very own home made inventions! Check out these sites for ideas or find a maker faire in your area for inspiration!

The app challenge, part of Verizon Innovative Learning, is a nationwide contest in which middle and high school students are challenged to develop concepts for mobile apps that solve a problem in their community. Winners have the chance to work with MIT engineers to code their apps and share them on the open marketplace.

The Botball® Educational Robotics Program engages middle and high school aged students in a team-oriented robotics competition. Students use science, engineering, technology, math, and writing skills to design, build, program, and document robots.

Students in grades 6-8 will select a topic related to light and sleep and select one of three exploration options (developing a prototype, creating an awareness campaign or writing a research proposal) to create an original project.

Team up with other kids your age in a challenge to design, build and test your ideas to solve real world problems. You’ll get to present your ideas your way in local and regional competitions against other teams your age as well as participate in instant challenges that let you think outside the box!

eCYBERMISSION is a web-based Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics competition where teams propose a solution to a real problem in your community and compete for State, Regional and National Awards.

Under strict rules, limited resources, and an intense six-week time limit, teams of students are challenged to raise funds, design a team “brand,” hone teamwork skills, and build and program industrial-size robots to play a difficult field game against like-minded competitors.

The MATE (Marine Advanced Technology Education) competition challenges K-12, community college, and university students from all over the world to design and build underwater robots (aka remotely operated vehicles or ROVs) to tackle missions modeled after scenarios from the ocean workplace.

ProjectCSGIRLS aims to cultivate a love for technology and computer science in girls through an annual competition designed to challenge girls to actively use computer science and technology to develop a solution to an imminent social problem.

In October/November, watch out for flying pumpkins as teams compete to see how far their trebuchets can fling those jack-o-lanterns! Check online for local/regional competitions. Build your own simple or complex machines and study physics in action!